Taisetsu na Hito no Tame ni
by Jaela-chan
Summary: What would you do for the sake of someone who is important to you? Sometimes, the answer isn't simple. A short oneshot, dedicated to Wolfic. Juubei x Kazuki.


Those heavy hands have never changed. Not once. Those strong fingers always fit perfectly over my bony shoulders, as if God built them for the purpose of resting there, comforting me. Protecting me. Not that I need to be protected, but there's nothing I love more that being protected by him. The one who stood by me, understood and misunderstood me in the highest possible degree. The one who once terrified me and nearly broke my heart by turning cold, distant, and fierce. There's no one I trust more.

"What's that?" He wasn't turned toward me, but I was the only one around. I'm sure he was talking to me.

"What's what?"

"Oh, never mind. It's a bird."

I smiled gently. "It's just those ears of yours acting up again." I tapped him on the nose. His ears went a little red, but he didn't scold me for teasing. Juubei is always hearing things that no one else can. Not because he's hallucinating, but because he can hear for miles and miles around. They say that when a person loses one of their five senses, the others grow more intense.

"Are you hungry yet?" I shifted around in her cool grass and touched the bento I'd packed with one hand. I was look forward to sharing the food with Juubei. I'd tried a few new recipes.

He shrugged. "Not really. Are you?"

"No." He and I are one. If he's not hungry, then I'm not, either.

A few moments passed in silence. I felt apprehensive. Usually, I don't mind silence. In fact, I prefer it. But this… this silence makes me nervous. He's sitting only three feet away from me, but that's much too far away. He's sitting out of touching distance and he's not eating my food.

"You know…" I didn't even have anything to say, but I just wanted to talk.

"Yes?"

"You know… I love you." I lowered my head. I don't know which of us is blushing more deeply. We both know this. We do. It's just not often that it gets said aloud like that.

He cleared his throat. I knew that he was probably too embarrassed to say anything, so I kept quiet, too. I felt frustrated that I'd only made the awkward silence thicker, more tangible. It was making me tap my fingers nervously against my knee now.

Suddenly, I see him moving in the corner of my eye. I don't know why I don't move or even look at him, but I feel frozen as if paused in time as everything else continues to move around me. As he moves towards me, my heart is stopped, too. My previously pounding heart is still, or else gone from my chest. And his lips, parted slightly, press against my cheek. The frozen me melts into a rapidly moving mess, working quickly to make up for the time I spent suspended. I turn to face him. I rise up to sit on my knees to match his height.

"Yes," he says.

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I know that."

"Oh." Silly me. I had forgotten my own words from only moments ago.

One strong hand rests on my knee, and the other cradles the back of my head and tugs at the cloth tying my hair back until it falls to the soft ground, sending my hair spilling out around me. In the same way, I pull away the cloth that shields his eyes from me and the entire world. He opens them, a little at a time. Those beautiful, blank eyes have trouble taking in all that light, so I shield them with one hand. I love those eyes that see nothing. I guide his hand from my knee to my face, willing him to see me through his fingertips. I close my eyes and I try to see him the way he's seeing me now. He takes one of my small hands in one of his large ones, and pulls me towards him. Bells ring in my ears. I come to rest against his warm chest. My head fits perfectly under his chin as if we were meant to sit here, just like this.

"You know…" His voice is low and rough. I feel him swallow hard.

"Yes." He doesn't need to finish. "You too."

I feel his warm breath against my hair. I feel his chest rise and fall, and I wrap my arms around his middle. I hold on tighter and tighter, and I give myself up to feeling small and defenseless. I said it before, didn't I? There's nothing I love more than this. For now, I'll let him protect me from the entire world that's moving on around us.

His steady heartbeat confuses me just a little, I'll admit. How can he stay so calm while my heart is pounding away so quickly? Pondering this, I lift my ear away from his chest. Drawing in a deep breath, I bring my lips to meet his. They're as cool as the dew-dampened grass, but gradually warm up as they meet mine again and again. He draws me in so that my hair spills over his shoulders, too. When all of my breath is gone, I fall to lay against his chest again.

Even if I don't really need to be protected, I'll entrust myself to him completely. And although I say it's all for his sake, maybe it's just as much for my own.

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Author's notes: Hmmm. Well. Let me take a deep breath. Heh… anyway, this is one of my favorite couples of all time. Perhaps a BL couple to rival Touya and Yukito of CCS. I love them THAT much. So… wow! Even though I love them so much, it's very hard for me to think of something to say. Basically, this is the first time I've written about a canon BL couple, I guess? For those of you who say they aren't canon, shame on you and your denial. Go reread and rewatch the series and come back and see me later. (cough) So I just… well, you don't see a whole lot of Kazuki and Juubei's cute little moments together, even though you know they're there. I wanted to write one and I actually don't think I did as good a job as I might have, were I not going through a major bought of writer's block right now… I feel like if I keep writing, it'll go away. So yes. This is dedicated to Wolfic, because I'm an evil, silly tease like that. I didn't even wander into the realm of lime, so you can thank me later.

I love Kazuki and Juubei with all of my heart, so if anyone knows of any other nice fics about them, please do let me know. Reviews are my friends! So, until next time. (waves)


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